When packaged containers filled up liquid food such as milk, mineral water, tea, juice, soup, alcohol are manufactured, web-shaped laminated packaging materials are used. A packaged container is formed by sealing the packaging laminated material with heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing and the like. For example, in a packaging and filling machine, strip is joined in the edge of the packaging laminated material. The packaging laminated material is formed into a tube-shaped shape. Both end sides of the packaging material are overlaid on each other to form an overlap. The overlap is pressed by a strip covering an inner edge section face of longitudinal sealing, and the overlap is sealed with a longitudinal sealing heater along the longitudinal direction. The packaging laminated material is sealed in the transverse direction by a transversal seal device while filling up liquid food in the tube-shaped packaging laminated material, and the packaging laminated material is cut. A pillow-shaped preliminary container is formed. The preliminary container is further formed into the predetermined shape, and a packaged container is manufactured.
FIG. 7 is an outline perspective diagram showing an example of a packaging and filling machine. A reel-like and web-shaped packaging laminated material 1 is loaded into the packaging and filling machine. The packaging laminated material 1 comprises a flexible laminate laminating a paper substrate and polyethylene resin layers on both sides of the paper substrate. A barrier layer including aluminum foil, gas barrier resin and the like is formed between the paper substrate and the film layer, if necessary. Decorations are printed on sections corresponding to the surface of packaged container 14.
The unwound packaging laminated material 1 is transported continually with a feeder of the transporting means, and is transported to a strip applicator 3 through bending rollers, and damper rollers. A strip 2 is continually applied onto one edge of the packaging laminated material 1 by a strip applicator 3.
A pull-tab is applied to the packaging laminated material 1, if necessary, by a pull-tab applicator. The packaging laminated material 1 is transferred to a sterilizing tank 4, and is sterilized in sterilizing tank 4 with a sterilizing liquid of hydrogen peroxide and the like. The packaging laminated material 1 is carried to an air knife 5 to be dried by the air knife 5. The packaging laminated material 1 is carried into an aseptic chamber 40 assuring that liquid food is filled up the tube-like packaging material with the aseptic atmosphere. The packaging laminated material 1 is transformed gradually with forming rings 6, and other forming rings to be formed to the tube-like shape.
The tube-like packaging laminated material 1 is preheated by hot air from a preheat means 8 of a longitudinal seal device to be sealed longitudinally. The liquid food is filled up into the tube-like packaging laminated material 1 from a bottom end of a filling pipe 7 outlet.
An example of filling up liquid food to the predetermined liquid level from a filling pipe in a tube-like packaging material is shown in FIG. 8.
A vertical portion of the filling pipe 7 is inserted into the internal lower part of the tube-like packaging material 1. The upstream portion is connected to a control valve 32. A cylindrical float 34 is arranged around the periphery of the vertical portion of the filling pipe 7. The float 34 floating in the liquid food and being between the tube-shaped packaging material 1 and the filling pipe 7 is put around the external surface of the vertical portion of the filling pipe 7 with freely up-down movability. A means to be detected 35 (a magnet, a transmitter, a tag and the like) is installed to the float 11. A detector 31 is arranged in the outside of the tube 1. The detector 31 converts a change of the strength and the weakness of signal from the means to be detected into electric current and the detector outputs as the electric signal. The detector outputs a stop signal at more than the predetermined level and an open signal at less than the predetermined level, respectively, to a controlling means 33. A flow control valve 32 is equipped in the upstream portion of the filling pipe 7, and the flow control valve 32 is controlled by the control means 33. The liquid level of the liquid is coordinated to the predetermined level. (See, e.g., JP 01-82102 Y)
The tube-like packaging laminated material 1 is guided downward and is carried to the transversal seal device 10, as shown in FIG. 7. The tube-like packaging laminated material 1 is heat-sealed with pressure along the transverse direction, and it is formed as a container shape. The transversely sealed packaging laminated material is cut with a knife, and a pillow-like preliminary container 13 is formed.
Detailed partial cross-sectional view of the transversal seal device 10 is shown for FIG. 9. At first, in this embodiment, the tube-like packaging material 1 with the filled food is held with an upper pair of seal jaws 10a and counter jaws 11. While the tube-like packaging material 1 is carried downward for a distance of the length corresponding to one packaged container, it is held by a pair of upper forming flaps 41 and 41, and it is formed as an approximate container shape. Two transversal seal zones are formed by the transversal sealing transversally. The middle of the seal zones of the connected pillow-like preforming bodies is cut by the knife 42, and separated pillow-like preformed bodies 13 are formed. In the embodiment for high-speed transversal sealing, preforming and cutting, two pairs of the seal jaw and the counter jaw, and forming flaps are equipped, and the first pair which finished the transversal sealing, preforming and cutting steps is evacuated aside, and it returns upward, next transversal sealing, preforming and cutting steps are repeated.
The preliminary container 13 is conveyed and is formed to the final shape by a final folder 15, as shown in FIG. 7, and a liquid-food filled packaged container 14 is produced.